It's time to stop seeing Customer Success as a Cost Center.

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A few years ago, I worked with a highly experienced executive who faced a monumental challenge: finding a reliable source of funding to building a new CSM team. Her situation was far from ideal. The company had just decided to launch its first customer success team, and the concept of CS was still shaky and not yet fully embraced by leadership. Corporate had given her a very tight budget, and there was limited funding to work with. CS was seen as a necessary expense but nothing more, and with looming financial constraints, she knew she had to think creatively.

Without proving the value of the CS team, it would have been the first to face budget cuts. She was determined to change the narrative and ensure her team became indispensable—not only for customer retention but as a key driver of revenue growth.

It wasn’t about tweaking a few processes—we needed a complete shift in how the company viewed customer success. We knew if we could:

• Craft the right offer
• Manage internal change effectively
• Demonstrate value to customers quickly

...we could charge a premium and turn CS into a true profit center.

Here’s how we did it:

1. Developed a Value-Based Framework We focused on outcomes that customers cared about the most—things like faster ROI, improved customer satisfaction, and enhanced product usage. This allowed us to clearly demonstrate the value that premium customer success services could bring, and more importantly, justify charging for those services.
2. Rolled Out Premium Services in Phases Starting with core services, we added value in stages, showing measurable wins at each step. By introducing new features such as tailored onboarding, quarterly business reviews (QBRs) with actionable insights, and hands-on consulting services, we gained buy-in from clients.
3. Overcame Change Management Challenges Getting internal stakeholders, particularly sales, on board was key. We had to ensure sales teams understood that CS would no longer be “giving away” value-added services for free. In doing so, we transformed CS from being seen as a necessary cost to a strategic part of the revenue machine.

Slowly, the narrative shifted from “CS is a necessary cost” to “CS is a critical part of our revenue strategy.”

The results?

She gained a higher budget, invested in new technology, expanded services, and improved the overall customer experience.

We even created premium, white-glove services that opened new revenue streams and accelerated client wins. This transformation didn’t just boost the company’s bottom line... it elevated the entire customer experience.

But here’s the interesting part: A recent industry poll shows that 53% of businesses don’t monetize their customer success services yet!

This divide tells me many companies are uncertain about how to unlock the true potential of customer success. So, if you haven’t monetized your customer success services yet, you’re definitely not alone.

But it doesn’t have to stay that way.

Curious about how this approach could work for you?

As the first step, I recommend downloading the cheat sheet I've developed a few years ago with:

• Tips & recommendations to get the initiative started
• How to account for risk coverage while monetizing your customer success
• Expert advice to avoid the mistakes other Customer Success teams made when they started out

If you want a copy, comment the words "Cheat Sheet" and I'll DM you the file. Just make sure we're connected first on LI :)

Good Luck!

P.S. I specialize in helping software companies, implementation partners and VARs incorporate a best in class CS strategy - the first time around. So, if you're a business executive ready to build a top-tier CSM practice, and want to build, fix or scale your customer success practice - DM me to see if working together on this or other initiatives make sense.